The indictment against Robin alleges that he entered the United States from Tortola and failed to declare that he was carrying approximately $38,000 in his travel bag, according to Shappert.

The indictment against Erickson alleges that during the same period he too entered the United States from Tortola with about $50,000 in United States currency and falsely claimed that he was not traveling with that amount of currency.

According to court records, Erickson was booked in Orange County, Florida for trafficking controlled substances on December 23, 2015.

Under federal law, each man faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Shappert said that an indictment is merely a formal charging document and is not in and of itself evidence of guilt.

“Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty,” she said.

The Author

John McCarthy

John McCarthy has been reporting on the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Caribbean region since 1989. John's articles have appeared in the BVI Beacon, St. Croix Avis, San Juan Star and Virgin Islands Daily News. He is originally from Detroit, Michigan.